


The meaning of life is your love in return

by Indrel



Category: Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gift Fic, Light Angst, Love, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, One Shot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, the spren are cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:34:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24706903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indrel/pseuds/Indrel
Summary: Adolin, Shallan and Kaladin spends a wonderful day together, going on a nice date despite one particular holdup. They're in love and everything is wonderful.
Relationships: Kaladin/Adolin Kholin, Shallan Davar/Adolin Kholin, Shallan Davar/Kaladin, Shallan Davar/Kaladin/Adolin Kholin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24





	The meaning of life is your love in return

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Typsy123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Typsy123/gifts).



> Happy Birthday to my wonderful little sibling, I love you so much 💚💚💚💚💚💚 I really hope you'll enjoy this gift I made you
> 
> Title from Amaranthe's song Break Down And Cry

Kaladin woke to the smell of coffee and the sound of laughter and music. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, for one confused moment he couldn’t remember where he was and a spike of fear went through him, before he recognized his bedroom. The bedroom he slept in with his partners. 

Both partners were currently missing, but the sound of laughter clued him in on where exactly they had disappeared to. Kaladin smiled at the delighted sound. The only thing better to wake up to than their laughter, were with the two of them still in bed with him, their arms holding him close. 

Syl meowed and rose from her spot on the floor, where she had been sunbathing. She jumped onto the bed and walked right up to his face, headbutting him gently. Kaladin chuckled and scratched her behind the ears. She began purring loudly and flopped down on his chest. 

“Good morning to you too, Syl”, he said and petted her. Kaladin sighed in contentment. Few things calmed him down as quickly as one of their three cats cuddling up against him, purring. He was almost tempted to slip back into sleep, but the sound of Shallan and Adolin laughing was like the song of a siren luring him closer. There was no way he could stay away.

Syl protested when Kaladin moved her from his chest and rose from the bed. He scratched her behind the ears as an apology and she settled down again. He fastened a robe around his pajamas as there was no need to get dressed yet, so he took the opportunity to dally in his comfortable sleeping clothes. With a jawn he walked out of the bedroom and down the short hallway to the kitchen, from where the music and laughter could be heard, as well as the mouthwatering smell of coffee. 

On the way he passed Maya, who was sitting in a window, looking out over their small backyard. It had rained during the night so the backyard and all the plants were glimmering like diamonds in the sunshine. It was almost blinding in its radiance. Flowers raised their crowns towards the sun, soaking up the sunshine and birds sang outside. It was a beautiful day. He stroked Maya’s head absentmindedly as he passed, but didn’t pause as the lure of his partners were too strong. 

Pausing in the doorway to the kitchen, Kaladin took in the scene before him with a smile. Shallan and Adolin danced gracelessly to the music playing on the radio. Considering Adolin had been training to dance since young and that Shallan was only slightly worse than him on it, their sloppy motions were completely on purpose. Considering the huge smiles on their faces and the laughter spilling from their mouths, it seemed they enjoyed it a great deal. While dancing the two of them also prepared breakfast. Adolin did a piruett and then flipped a pancake. Shallan took a short leap along the length of the kitchen and then pulled out three coffee cups from a cupboard. Then they danced back into each other’s arms. 

Suddenly Adolin caught sight of him standing in the doorway and stumbled in surprise. That caused him to almost drop Shallan on the floor, considering he was currently dipping her. He quickly set her back on her feet.

“Kaladin!” He exclaimed, which caused Shallan to turn towards him as well. “You’re awake.”

Kaladin laughed. “Obviously.”

“Did we wake you? I’m sorry if we did”, Adolin said, frowning in worry. 

Kaladin waved him away. “Don’t worry about it, it was a wonderful thing to wake up to.”

Shallan pouted and crossed her arms. “But we wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed. You usually wakes up first so we thought you deserved it.”

“If you want I can go back to bed and pretend to be asleep when you come in with breakfast”, Kaladin suggested with a smirk. 

Shallan huffed. “It won't be the same.” Then a look he recognized all too well passed over her face. She had just had an idea. For the most part he loved it when she got that look in her beautiful eyes as it usually meant something fun was about to happen. However at times her idea of fun had ended with them almost getting arrested. "But since you're awake you have to join us."

Kaladin eyed the two of them, dressed in pajamas and with aprons around their waists, hair messy and flour on their cheeks. Adolin was still dancing on the spot even while flipping a pancake. They looked ridiculous but he assumed he did so equally in his pajamas and robe. Besides, it looked like a lot of fun. He shrugged and grinned at her. "I'm in."

Before Shallan could as much as blink he had crossed the distance between them and swept her up into his arms. She shrieked in surprise and threw her arms around his neck as he twirled around with her. 

“Kaladin! Put me down!” She yelled, even as she clutched at him in a way that directly contradicted that statement. 

“Never! You’re mine now!” He kissed her nose and then peppered he cheeks and forehead with kisses. She giggled beneath the onslaught of kisses and tried to turn so he’d kiss her on the lips. Kaladin avoided her lips with a cheeky grin and just continued to kiss her on every inch of her face except for them. When she pouted at him he finally relented and kissed her tenderly, letting his lips linger against hers. 

“You’re having a kiss party without me?” Adolin said and gave them his best betrayed puppy eyes. Shallan and Kaladin exchanged a look before dissolving into laughter. Adolin only doubled down on his puppy eyes and made his bottom lip quiver as the little drama queen he was. 

Still chuckling, and with Shallan still in his arms, Kaladin walked over to him. Adolin puffed out his chest in triumph and Kaladin rolled his eyes at him, before leaning down slightly to kiss him on the lips. When he pulled back Adolin leaned down to kiss Shallan as well. 

“Good morning, sunshine”, Adolin mumbled and kissed him once more. Kaladin snorted at the nickname. Shallan had coined it back when the three of them had still only been friends. At the time it had been far from accurate, but with therapy and lots of love and support from his friends and partners, it had become easier and easier for Kaladin to smile. Now every time either of them called him sunshine it made him smile even bigger. 

“Good morning.”

“Not to break up such a sweet moment, but I think something smells burnt”, Shallan pointed out. Adolin yelped and turned towards the stove and the fuming frying pan. He tried to save the pancake, but Kaladin could see it was a lost cause, considering it was black. 

“No! It’s ruined!” Adolin cried dramatically and draped himself over the counter next to the stove. 

Shallan giggled. “Don’t worry babe, you’ve made a lot of pancakes already and there’s still more batter left so you can make more.” 

“Still”, Adolin said with a fake sniffle. 

Kaladin rolled his eyes at his antics, but couldn't help but smile all the same. “I’ll have to put you down now, Shallan. You’re getting heavy.”

“You’re saying I’ve gotten fat?” Shallan immediately accused, though her eyes glittered with mirth. 

“That’s not what I’m saying”, Kaladin protested. His arms had began to burn slightly from carrying her for so long. 

She pouted. “Fine, but in that case you have to dance with me instead.”

Kaladin grinned at her. “Deal.”

He carefully put her back down on her feet but didn't let go of her waist, just moving his other hand there too. Shallan rested her head against his chest and together they swayed back and forth. It was actually a fast pop song playing on the radio so their slow dancing didn’t exactly fit with the music, but neither of them cared about that. 

While they danced Adolin finished the rest of the pancakes and soon enough he had turned the stove off and came to join them. He encircled Shallan in his arms as well so she became squished between them and kissed Kaladin over her head. 

“Athlethi giants”, she muttered but made no effort to move away. 

“Breakfast is ready”, Adolin announced even as he continued to press kisses against Kaladin’s willing lips. Every kiss was featherlight and almost unbearable soft and gentle. Kaladin loved it. While passionate, open mouth kisses was just as good, something about this morning demanded tenderness before passion. 

They might have remained like that until the food and drinks grew cold if Pattern hadn’t walked into the kitchen. He let out his strange, humming meow, demanding that they feed him. They let go of each other and Shallan bent down to pet his head. He hum-meowed at them again.

Shallan laughed. “Don’t worry, food is on the way.”

As she had just uttered the magical word, their two other cats came running into the kitchen; Maya with her long, graceful steps and Syl practically skipping inside. Both of them began slinking around their feets, demanding food loudly. 

“I’ll take care of it”, Shallan offered. “You two sit and eat breakfast.”

There was no disagreeing with her when she had set her mind on doing something so Kaladin and Adolin sat down at the table. Kaladin immediately poured himself a cup of coffee, inhaling the vapour, before taking a long sip, ignoring how the coffee was slightly too warm and stung his tongue. 

Adolin made a disgusted face. “I don't understand how you can drink it black.”

“At least I don’t put in five sugar cubes and half a litre of milk”, Kaladin shot back and pointedly eyed Adolin’s coffee, which consisted of more sugar and milk than it did coffee. They bickered about that every morning. It was tradition by now. 

Shallan flopped down on her own chair, done feeding the cats, who were happily munching on their food. “You’re both wrong, and that’s that on that. The only respectable breakfast drink is tea.”

“Tea is just hot leaf soup”, Kaladin said and pulled a face. 

“And coffee is just hot beans soup”, Shallan shot back. After a brief pause the three of them started laughing, and Adolin, who had been in the process of taking a drink, almost spit it out over the table. Luckily he managed to swallow it before any accident could occur. 

Kaladin began eating of the pancakes, and except for the one pancake Adolin had burnt and had to throw away, they were all perfekt. He moaned and had to stop himself from shoveling the food into his mouth. “The food is amazing as always, Adolin. I could eat your pancakes every morning for the rest of my life and never get tired of them.”

“Thank you”, Adolin said with a smile. He leaned forward to kiss Kaladin and the kiss tasted of maple syrup. Still it wasn’t as sweet as Adolin himself. 

Shallan snorted and they turned to look at her with matching confused expressions. “Remember last time Lift visited and she ate all the pancakes herself the moment we had our backs turned?”

Kaladin snorted while Adolin laughed. “How could I forget? Why do you ask?”

“Because if you continue to kiss each other instead of eating I’m going to steal all your pancakes.“

“Hey!” Adolin exclaimed with a pout. “I made the pancakes so I get to kiss as much as I want.” 

“And what’s the rush?” Kaladin asked. “We have all day.”

Shallan smiled in a way that did not bode well for him. “Actually we’re going to have a date in an hour, so you better be ready and dressed by then.”

Kaladin squinted at her, suddenly suspicious. “What are we doing?” 

“It’s a surprise”, she said cheerfully, which only made him more suspicious. But there weren’t exactly anything he could do about it so he shrugged and began shoveling pancakes into his mouth again. Adolin did the same. They were used to Shallan’s antics. 

Once he had finished his plate and cup of coffee he turned towards Shallan. “So, any hints you’d be willing to give us about today?”

She hummed and tapped her chin. “Well … wear something comfortable and light. We’re going outside and the weather is going to be lovely.”

“That doesn't help at all”, Kaladin complained. 

She stuck her tongue out at him. “That’s the point. Now go get ready. Both of you.” 

Kaladin reluctantly got to his feet and gathered his plate to go wash it, as did Adolin, but Shallan stopped them. “I’ll take care of the dishes.”

“But babe, I can’t let you do that”, Adolin protested. 

Kaladin nodded. “Exactly, you two cooked all the food so it’s only fair that I do the dishes.”

“You can and will”, Shallan said, putting her hands against her hips. She pointed first at Kaladin. “You always makes us breakfast so it’s time you let us take care of it for once, don’t you dare do the dishes. And you-” she pointed at Adolin, ”- need to help Kaladin get dressed. We both know he can’t do it alone.”

Adolin nodded. “That’s true, he’s a mess without me.”

“Hey!” Kaladin exclaimed, pretending to be offended. But he knew they were right and though he wouldn’t admit it, he liked it when Adolin would dress him. Besides, every time they had a date or another important occasion he would dress Shallan too. It was part of their dynamic.

Adolin took his hand and pulled him away from the kitchen. “Come on, we have some work to do before you’ll be presentable.” Kaladin rolled his eyes but followed without protest.

An hour later he was dressed to Adolin’s satisfaction in khaki short and a light blue buttons up with its arms rolled up above his elbows. Adolin had also put his hair up in an intricate braid. He didn't really see the point about making something fancy with his hair, but who was he to deny Adolin his joy? The only reason he kept his hair long was because both Adolin and Shallan liked to play with it. 

Shallan was also dressed in a pretty sundress in blue colors and had her hair done in a crown of braids. Her makeup was, as she called it, on fleek. Adolin was somehow even better than her at doing makeup. 

Adolin himself was of course dressed the most extravagant and Kaladin was almost surprised he hadn't donned a suit, settling for a white dress shirt and navy shorts that hugged his butt in an almost scandalizing way. His blond and black hair was impeccably curled and styled.

Also somehow he had managed to match all three of their clothes while still keeping to their preferred styles. 

"Come on", Shallan said and took them by the hands, dragging them towards the door. "We have to go now or we'll lose the sunlight." Kaladin rolled his eyes at that, considering ti was the middle of summer and hours left before it got dark. 

As they neared the front door it was like all three of their cats realized at the same time that they were leaving, and one after the other they came out of hiding to follow them. Syl bounded after them while meowing excitedly, like the overgrown kitten she was. Maya walked after her more slowly, every step precise and graceful, as if she wanted to make absolutely sure everyone remembered she was the queen of the household. Pattern came last, letting out his strange humming meow. 

The three cats immediately made it much harder for the three humans to get dressed in their light jackets and shoes, as they demanded to be pet in the middle of it all. Syl even went so far as to climb Kaladin’s bare leg, leaving a few scratches, until he relented and bent down to scratch her chin. She purred happily at him so he couldn’t even be mad. 

After a lot of struggling and cat juggling the three of them managed to get dressed and stepped out of the house - without any cat escaping. They all let out sighs of relief at the same time, which of course resulted in them breaking into laughter. Kaladin laughed so much he could feel tears build in the corners of his eyes. Though soon enough they managed to collect themselves. 

Shallan took their hands. “Come on, we better get going.”

Adolin and Kaladin matched their much longer steps to Shallan’s so they wouldn’t start to outpace her, forcing her to run. Together they walked to wherever Shallan was leading them. 

💚💚💚

The farmer’s market before them were bursting with life, hundreds of people having come out in the sunshine and warmth to attend. The smell of food and drinks filled the air and made Kaladin’s mouth water despite it not being two hours since he had breakfast. The stalls were filled with various knickknacks up for sale. There were honey and cheese for sale, fresh fruits and vegetables too. There were so much color everywhere and combined with the sun it created a warm and inviting atmosphere. 

It was so crowded that Kaladin had to press in close against Shallan, Adolin doing the same on her other side. Not that any of them complained. Shallan looked especially pleased by the situation, letting go of their hands to hook their arms together instead. 

“Oh, we should get some lemonade”, Shallan exclaimed and began pulling them towards one of the stalls. That sounded like a lovely idea and Kaladin eagerly followed her. Even more so when he caught a whiff of the lemonade the vendor was selling. It smelled divine. When he a few moments later was handed a cup by Shallan and took his first sip it was like he had transcended to heaven. Next to him Shallan sighed happily while she drank her own cold lemonade. In the warm sunshine it was exactly what they needed to refresh. 

“We should move”, Adolin said, even though he made no effort to pull them away from the stall. “We don’t want to be late, or our time might go to someone else.”

“Wait!” Kaladin exclaimed and turned so he was facing Adolin, almost spilling his lemonade in the process. “You know what we are going to do?”

Adolin grinned. “Of course, the whole date was my idea, Shallan just helped me plan everything.”

“Not fair! I’m the only one that don’t know anything. Can’t you at least give me a hint?” He asked, doing his best to copy Adolin’s puppy eyes even though he wasn’t nearly as good at it as he was. 

“No way! Besides, we’re almost there.” Shallan and Adolin began walking again, pulling him with them through the market, dodging families and couples along the way. Kaladin finished his cup and threw it away when he passed a trash can. 

While they walked he tried to predict what Adolin could have in mind. It was clearly outside but it couldn't only be this market, or they wouldn’t have to mind the time. Maybe there was some kind of competition? A dancing competition? Adolin greatly enjoyed dancing and had even competed in it for a bit when he was younger. As long as Kaladin was dancing with his partners he didn’t mind it in the slightest. Or it could be a reservation at a fancy restaurant. Before they got their cats the three of them had used to go to a nearby cat café. Kaladin had some really lovely memories from that place and wouldn’t mind going again. 

Whatever it was, as long as there were no horses involved, he would probably enjoy it. 

In that moment the crowd parted before them and they walked out into a small, sectioned off area. Two colourful wagons stood parked after one another. And both of them … were pulled by two horses each. 

Kaladin dug his heels into the ground, bringing the three of them to a abrupt stop. He didn’t dare take his eyes of the monsters as he addressed his partners. “I’m not going anywhere near those creatures.”

Shallan and Adolin somehow managed to turn on their puppy eyes at exactly the same time, Shallan even going so far as to pout. "Aw come on Kaladin, don't be like that! You'll like it."

"Yeah! And you won't even have to touch the horses, you'll be perfectly safe from them in the wagon."

Kaladin shook his head vigorously, still stubbornly staying in place. "Nope, not falling for it. I'd be in a small, enclosed cage made of wood moving at a high speed, my life depending on the fickle whim of an easily scarred prey animal who hates me."

“But, babe, this is Adolin’s dream date!” Shallan exclaimed and turned towards Adolin. “Tell him.”

Adolin somehow made his protruding lower lip wobble as if he was about to cry at any second. Kaladin had to admit he was impressed, but he didn't believe it for one second. “She’s right, I’ve dreamt about going on a horse drawn wagon with my partners for my whole life. Are you going to crush my dream?”

Kaladin was not moved at all by his theatrics. “Go with Shallan.”

“It wouldn’t be the same without you!” Adolin cried and draped himself over Kaladin, as if that would help. “You and Shallan are the lights of my life and I love you very much.”

“Too bad, because I’m not going one step closer and no amount of puppy eyes, pleading or sugartalk in the world will change my mind.”

“Oh?” Shallan said and her eye lit up in a way that never bode well for Kaladin. She smiled and it made a chill go down his spine. “If that won’t work, then maybe a bribe will?”

Kaladin narrowed his eyes in suspicion. But at the same time he couldn’t deny that he was curious. He decided to bite the bullet. “Alright, what could you possible bribe me with?”

Shallan smirked and he knew he had made a mistake. “You’ll get to sleep in the middle for two weeks.”

_ Storms, she is good,  _ Kaladin thought. The middle was the best place to sleep as he was both the big and the small spoon at the same time, cocooned by his partners. Since they all felt that way, usually he only got to sleep in the middle every third night so two weeks in a row was extremely tempting. But … Kaladin eyed the horses. He felt so puny next to the 500 kilo monsters with hooves hard as stone and teeth that could bite off his fingers. Two weeks were not enough. 

“Three weeks and I’ll go”, Kaladin said, his stomach turning with anxiety. 

Shallan and Adolin smiled and it was like two twin suns had just risen over the horizon, threatening to blind him. Shallan held out her hand. “Deal.”

They shook hands. Kaladin was already regretting it. “Deal.” 

“Great! Now let's climb in!” Shallan took his hand and pulled him towards one of the wagons. 

“Wait, right now?” Kaladin asked, feeling his panic rise. “I’m not ready!”

“Yup! No time like the present!”

Kaladin stumbled a few steps closer towards the horses until another wave of fear made him dig his heels into the ground again, stopping them in their tracks. Shallan turned to look at him in surprise. “I can’t do this!”

Adolin caught up to them right then and put his hands on Kaladin’s shoulders. His blue eyes were so full of earnest worry and care that Kaladin managed to take a deep breath and slow his breathing. “Kaladin, if you really don’t want to do this you don’t have to. I just think that if you gave it a shot you would enjoy it more than you think, and I would truly love if you came with. But if it’s too much for you we won’t force you. We would never force you to do anything.” He smiled a bit cheekily.” Except for eating and sleeping, you crazy insomniac.”

Kaladin rolled his eyes but couldn’t contain an answering smile. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the fear dissipate. Looking back at the horses they didn't seem as scary any longer, not as long as Adolin was holding him close. And with Shallan there as well he had nothing to fear. He closed his eyes for a second and forced his body to relax, taking deep breaths.

Opening his eyes again he smiled at the two of them. “All right, let's do this.”

They took one of his hands each and together they walked towards the wagon. Kaladin looked the horses straight in the eyes, daring them to do any bullshit. Horseshit? Anyway he would not let the monsters ruin this date for him and his partners. 

The driver nodded at them when they came close and made a grand gesture for them to climb into the wagon. Adolin went first, almost jumping inside in his eagerness. Once he had taken a seat he held out his hand toward Kaladin, blue eyes shining with happiness and love. Kaladin took one last deep breath and deliberately didn’t look at the horses as he took Adolin’s hand and allowed him to pull him inside. Shallan climbed inside immediately afterwards and Kaladin ended up sitting between them, their legs pressed closely together and their arms linked. 

A part of him felt slightly trapped as he now wouldn’t be able to just jump off the wagon, but that was probably the whole idea with this seating. Jumping off a moving wagon in a panic would probably be a very bad idea. Plus it felt nice to be seated between his partners, feeling their comforting presence on both sides. 

That comfort went out the window the moment the wagon started moving with a slight lurch. Kaladin gripped Shallan’s right and Adolin’s left hands and clung to them with a white knuckled grip as they moved forward. The wagon moved back and forth slightly and every jolt that went through it made Kaladin’s panic worsen. He breathed so fast and shallowly that he started to feel dizzy. His eyes were locked on the two horses in front of him. At the two monsters.

Then suddenly Adolin leaned forward so his line of sight of the horses became blocked. Adolin’s beautiful, blue eyes were looking at him with concern and he was frowning unhappily. “It’s okay Kal, we are here and we won’t let anything happen to you. You’re safe. If you want to get out off here we can. Just say the word.”

On his other side Shallan put her arm around him and squeezed his hand, the same one that he used to cling onto her. “We can do something else instead.” She smiled sadly at him. “You’ll even get to sleep in the middle for three weeks anyhow.”

Kaladin drew in a deep breath and then another, using his partners’ strengthening presence to calm down. Eventually he managed to soften his grip so he was holding their hands rather than clinging onto them as if their hands were a lifeline and he was drowning. He had Shallan and Adolin and they would never let anything happen to him. They would all be fine. Everything was fine. Everything had been fine for years now. 

He looked between his partners, felt their warmth and the comfort of their gentle touch and forced his body to relax. The wagon continued to move beneath them but concentrating on his partners as he did, he was able to block that out. Kaladin cleared his throat to get rid of the lump that had lodged itself there so he could speak. “It’s … it’s fine. I can continue.”

“Are you certain?” Adolin asked and Kaladin nodded. “Alright but don’t look forward, just look at me and Shallan.” Kaladin nodded again and Adolin smiled at him. Then he leaned forward and kissed him. The kiss was pretty chaste considering they were in public, but it still made Kaladin’s stomach flip and his heart race. 

“Hey, not fair! I also wanna kiss Kal!” Shallan exclaimed and he had Adolin separated with a laugh. Kaladin leaned down to give her a chaste kiss too, but she surprised him by grabbing him by the collar and giving him a deep and passionate kiss instead. It made his whole body tingle pleasantly and the last of the fear dissipated. 

The sun was shining from a completely blue sky, keeping them warm and cozy while a slight breeze kept them from overheating. Birds were singing beautifully and Shallan’s and Adolin’s laughter was even more beautiful. Throughout the whole ride they continued to cover Kaladin in kisses and affection. Despite the proximity of two horses Kaladin couldn't stop smiling and after a while he completely forgot they were there. 

When the ride came to a sudden stop, the driver announcing the time was up, Kaladin had managed to forget so completely about the horses he startled a bit when he caught sight of them again. But before he could become afraid again, Adolin climbed off the wagon and held out his hand to Kaladin. 

“Come on, Kal and Shal, time to go!” He said with a brilliant smile that rivaled the sun in brightness. Kaladin took his hand and let himself be pulled off and then offered his other hand to Shallan so she could climb off too. Hand in hand they walked away from the horses.

“What do you say, Kal, that wasn’t too bad, was it?” Shallan said and numbed her shoulder against his arm. 

“Not as bad as I thought it would be”, he admitted with a smile and looked down so his hair fell over his face. “Not with you two by my side.”

“And we always will be, Kal”, Adolin said and put his arm around Kaladin’s shoulders. “We love you.”

“I love you too.”

“And don’t you dare to forget it”, Shallan said and let go of his hand to interlock their arms instead. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it”, Kaladin said with a snort.

“Good! Now let’s go, I want something sweet!” With those words Shallan pulled them away from the wagons and into the market proper again. 

Soon enough they found a stall that sold candy and Adolin bought them a bag to share. They spent the next couple of minutes feeding each other candy and exchanging short kisses. The kisses were even sweeter than the sugar. 

After that they spent another hour looking through the market. They bought some fresh food to bring home for dinner and they found a stall filled with treats and toys for cats and dog and almost used up all the money they had brought to get things for their cats. There was also a quiz placed all over the market that they followed. Shallan used her phone to cheat on all the questions despite Kaladin’s protests, while Adolin only laughed and rolled his eyes fondly. 

As the afternoon grew hotter and hotter they decided to call it a day and returned home, bellies full of delicious food and laughter bubbling in the air between them. They walked home hand in hand, Shallan in the middle so she could decide the pace. 

When Adolin finally unlocked the door to their house Kaladin felt pleasantly drowsy, happiness like a cloud surrounding him, making him feel content. When they stepped inside their cats came running into the hallway, meowing loudly and almost tripping them up as the three of them tried to take off their shoes. Kaladin laughed when Shallan stumbled over Pattern and fell directly into his arms. He put her on her feet again and kissed her on the top of her head. Adolin shooed the cats away using some of the new toys they had bought. He threw the toys further into the house and even the dignified Maya ended up sprinting after them. 

Shallan scrunched her nose at Kaladin in a way that was just adorable and made him want to kiss it. “Heroes aren’t supposed to laugh at the lady he saves! Now I won’t give you a kiss.”

Kaladin suppressed another laugh and instead bowed his back towards her. “I am terribly sorry, my lady and hope you can forgive this blundering hero and give him the kiss he so desires.”

Shallan crossed her arms and looked down at him as if she was a queen contemplating having him executed. “All right, I guess I can forgive you … if you give me a sufficient enough kiss.”

Kaladin grinned and straightened up so he could pull her close by her waist. He put one arm around her neck and the other around her waist and then he dipper her backwards while he pressed his lips against her in a passionate kiss. After a second he straightened up again and pulled back from the kiss. Shallan’s stared at him with wide eyes, lips parted in surprise. He grinned again. “Was that sufficient enough?”

“... quite”, she said breathlessly. 

Adolin cleared his throat pointedly and they turned towards him. He raised one unimpressed brow at them. “Haven’t you forgotten someone?”

Laughter spilled from Kaladin’s mouth. “I could never, love.” Then he stepped up to Adolin and pulled him close, pressing their bodies and lips together. When Adolin moaned Kaladin took the chance to deepen the kiss by sticking his tongue into Adolin’s mouth. A few seconds later when he pulled back they were panting slightly. “Happy?”

“Very”, Adolin said with another sunshine smile of his. At his other side Shallan was smiling too Kaladin smiled back at them, happiness bubbling inside. 

Despite the many years that had passed it still astounded him sometimes how easy it was for him to smile these days. But when he was around his two wonderful, loving partners it was easy to understand why. When they smiled it made everything better and brighter. They made it easier to get through hit dark periods, to work through his fear and depression. They made him feel safe and loved.

“Wanna cuddle on the couch?” Shallan asked and took his hand. 

“Of course, just remember that I’m the middle spoon for the next three weeks”, Kaladin reminded with a grin. 

“Then I call dibs on being the big spoon!” Adolin immediately exclaimed. “I wanna be  _ crushed _ .”

“Are you calling me fat?” Shallan and Kaladin asked at the same time and then looked at each other in surprise. After a second of stunned silent all three of them started laughing. Kaladin ended up having to clutch his stomach and Shallan was almost falling over, only Adolin’s arm around her waist keeping her upright. 

Once they finally calmed down again Kaladin felt filled to the brim with happiness and love. He sighed, smiling at his partners so wide it hurt his cheeks. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too”, Adolin said and kissed his cheek.

Shallan grabbed his collar to pull him down low enough for her to kiss him too. “Lova ya, babe.”

Together they went into the living room and settled down on the couch. Just as promised Kaladin got to be the middle spoon and squashed between the two people he loved the most in the world, their cats settling down around them, he had never felt happier. This was where he belonged. This was where he was meant to be for the rest of his life, together with Shallan and Adolin, the loves of his life. 


End file.
